Video: 10 Minute IT Jams - An update from Pin Payments

Small businesses in Australia and New Zealand are finding it easier to accept online payments thanks to a growing fintech provider. Pin Payments, a company that specialises in simplifying debit and credit card transactions, is expanding its offerings and reach across the Tasman.

Chris Dahl, co-CEO of Pin Payments, explained how the business streamlines the process of accepting payments in both local and foreign currencies. The company's services cater to small and medium enterprises across Australia and New Zealand. "We help over 12,000 small to medium businesses," Dahl said. "We've been around since 2013 and more recently have launched into New Zealand as well."

For those unfamiliar with the company, Pin Payments offers distinct support for two types of customers: traditional businesses looking to accept payments online, and software platforms that want to embed payment functionality directly into their products.

"A typical small to medium business might want to add card payments to their website, online store, or just add a payment link to invoices so their customer has the choice of transferring money or paying by card," Dahl said. He pointed out that there are over 5,000 such businesses in New Zealand alone, now with access to more options for collecting payments online.

Software platforms are the other key customer. "These are software companies looking to build payment features into their software, so when their customers use the software, they can take payments," Dahl explained. "This is a really big, growing industry."

A local success story he cited was Revolutionise Sport, a platform that helps grassroots sporting clubs manage memberships, competitions, and payments. "They started in Australia, but we've now helped them expand into New Zealand," he added.

Pin Payments has recently introduced several upgrades. "We're really proud and excited about expanding in New Zealand," Dahl said. "It now means we can help both New Zealand and Australian platforms expand, helping customers on both sides."

On the technical side, Apple Pay and Google Pay are now integrated into the Pin Payments offering. Dahl said this upgrade allows businesses to "build a more streamlined payment experience for their customers."

Price reductions are also a significant change for New Zealand. "We've recently reduced our rates for New Zealand businesses," Dahl said. "This was off the back of the Reserve Bank in New Zealand capping interchange fees, so our starting rates have dropped from 2.9% per transaction down to 1.9%." He said it was "a pretty meaningful reduction for businesses", hoping it will "mean more money in their back pocket if they're already accepting payments – or encourage more businesses to start accepting payments online because it's now less costly."

When asked about the next big focus for product development, Dahl emphasised the company's focus on customer needs. A major project is a deeper integration with accounting software Xero. "We've been integrated with Xero since 2013, so when an invoice gets sent out there's a payment button that allows [the customer] to pay with card," he explained.

The forthcoming improvement will make reconciling payments easier. "We have almost finished integration with Xero so when you log into Xero there'll be a Pin Payments bank feed," said Dahl. "You'll see all the payments we put into your bank account and quickly and easily reconcile them with your invoices. For the small business operator or their bookkeeper, it means they can reconcile much, much faster than before. We feel that will be a real complete solution for our businesses who are using Xero and Pin Payments."

With a strong presence across both Australia and New Zealand, Pin Payments prides itself on offering the same technology in both markets. "We haven't built a superior or inferior product for either market – it's the same platform in both," Dahl said. "That's important for those platform customers who might want to expand, so they know they'll have the same functionality and capabilities in both countries."

Backing Pin Payments is global payments firm Checkout.com, which brings significant heft to its local operations. "We're a part of Checkout.com, a global payments company with over 2,000 employees – a really robust, knowledgeable team spread across the world," said Dahl. "That means we've got the team behind it, the most modern payments platform around, and we can innovate quickly but also have higher acceptance rates for our customers."

Dahl was also clear about the company's approachability for new clients. "Our website's probably the first place to go," he said, encouraging potential customers to "give us a call and have a chat or reach out via email."

As digital payments continue to reshape commerce across the region, platforms like Pin Payments are promising to make life easier for both traditional and tech-savvy businesses alike. Dahl summed up his company's ethos simply: "We're super focused on our customers and what they need."